Month: April 2019

Isn’t it fantastic when you come across a beautiful and fascinating place which is right on your doorstep? This is how we felt about Easton Castle when we finally went to visit! It is only a few minutes drive away and is one of the best days out we’ve had!

Easton Castle is in Herefordshire and is surrounded by a beautiful deer park, lake and arboretum. It is currently owned by the Hervey-Bathurst family.

The beautiful castle is full of medieval armour and fine art.

Inside is a beautiful dining room which was most recently decorated in 1990. The ceiling was decorated in the 1860’s  by the 3rd Earl Somers and depicts the shields of families connected to to those of him and his wife. There are over thirty portraits in this room alone. The room is now used for weddings and other private functions.

The fireplace is said to have been made from granite from the little quarry on the left hand side of the front drive, which is now unfortunately completely overgrown.

The Gothic Drawing Room is probably my favourite room of the whole castle – just look at the stunning ceiling detail!

The room was transformed in 1849 by a well-known Victorian firm of decorators called the Craces. There are four large tapestries hung up across the room depicting the four seasons and they date from 1680.

The carpet was laid recently in 2011 and was hand knotted in Turkey and was ten years in the making! The design includes the letter S as reflects the crests of the Somers Cocks family and the Manner’s family.

The Octagon room was completely redecorated in 1989. The chandelier is Dutch rock crystal and still has candles as it was originally designed.

The two Gothic fireplaces were restored to their original place after they had been discovered in the Castle cellars. They had been removed by Lady Somers in the 1930’s when the left hand one was replaced by a large stone fireplace in order to give a single focus to the room and to dissuade, it is said, the men from congregating away from the ladies after dinner at the alternative source of warmth.

The ancient Assyrian tablet story……On a wet Sunday afternoon in 1998 the Hervey-Bathurst family and their weekend guests were rummaging in the remote areas of the castle cellar. The family thought they had thoroughly explored the cellar space over the past ten years, and had retrieved furniture and paintings which had been in store since 1939. It was amazing that after ten years of restoration that this incredible find came to light in a dark corner of a cellar that had been passed by many hundreds of times.

Coated in thick dust, this ancient Assyrian tablet dating from approximately 700BC was discovered behind an old cooking range. It is estimated that it had been lying undisturbed for at least 100 years! Lying near the tablet were letters from the archaeologist Henry Layard, who first discovered the tablet in 1850.

Henry Layard was a good friend of Charles Somers, an ancestor of the Hervey-bathurst family. Layard describes in his letter to Somers how he excavated the Assyrian Palaces where he discovered the reliefs which lined the walls. It is likely that Somers, who was a great traveller, met Layard while travelling abroad and became good friends with him.

Layard often gave fragments like this to friends and patrons in the hope of securing financial backing for continued excavation. The Eastnor relief was found in about 1850 and the scene shows Chaldean or Babylonian prisoners and comes from Court XIX of the palace originally built by Sennacherib (704-682). Some of his descendants had many of the wall panels scraped flat and this is one of those, recurved with more up-to-date scenes in 640-630 BC.

The Eastnor Castle Doll’s House was found in the furniture store in the cellar. It was first used in the 1920’s but could actually date far earlier than that as some of the original furnishings remain.

The Library is another beautiful room – the walls are hung with 19th Century design fabric. The Billiard table dates from 1920 and the walnut bookshelves date from 1646.

Upstairs you can find The Chapel Bedroom, Chinese Bedroom, The Queen’s Bedroom, bathroom, The Chapel and several passages.

The Queen’s Bedroom has this name because it commemorates the visit of Queen Mary in 1937. This room has 18th century Chinese wallpaper and 19th century furniture in the Chinese style.

The Chinese Bedroom was created for Queen Mary’s visit and was used by her Lady in Waiting.

The Chapel was created from a bedroom in the 1880’s. The stained glass windows were given to the 3rd Earl and his wife by their daughters. The Chapel has never been consecrated and is only used for family prayers. It has not been used much after the death of Lady Herny Somers in 1921.

Downstairs you can find the beautiful State Bedroom and State Bathroom. It was restored in 1996, but hasn’t been used since 1939. The latin on the fireplace translates as “Hope conquers all”. The Italian carved walnut four poster bed dates back to the 17th Century.

In the beautiful grounds you will find an arboretum and a lake with beautiful trails and views of the castle which are lovely on a warm summers day!

So, as you can see, a wonderful place which is well worth a visit!

Don’t forget that the Fireworks Championships are hosted here every year as well! If you are a fan of fireworks then this is a great evening out for all the family – it’s on the 31st August and you can buy tickets here…